50 Quick and Simple Ways to Make Extra Money In Your Spare Time

Jay Dawson October 26th 2016 Education

2017 is rapidly drawing to a close, and the holiday season is just around the corner. If you haven't reached your financial goals this year, or you can only afford to give your friends hugs for Christmas, time is running out to get your bank account back in shape. Luckily for you, we've pulled together some of the best quick tips and easy money earners so that you can have a bit of extra cash to play with. Read on to find out how you can turn the last few months of the year into some of your most profitable ever.

1. Get Paid To Watch Movie Previews

There's a lot of get-rich-quick schemes and sites out there, and many of them are a waste of time. InboxDollars, however, is the real deal. True, you won't become a multimillionaire, but you can net a cool $200 a month for a few hours of your time. A pretty handy sum of cash, if you ask us.

If you're looking for a catch, you're bound to be disappointed. You actually get $5 just for signing up, and one of their more popular tasks, watching movie previews, is so easy that you could probably get your five-year-old to do it. They're not out to waste your time either - they'll tell you exactly how long each playlist will take to complete so you can schedule accordingly. Considering we usually pay to watch movies, it's a real no-brainer.

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2. Earn Up to $30/Day With In-Theater Checks

We've said it before, and we'll shout it again. Being a mystery shopper has got to be one of the coolest jobs on the planet. Quite apart from being able to wear a mask, twirl a cape, and laugh maniacally, you also do and get loads of awesome stuff for free. Like, did you know you can attend movie premieres without dropping a single dime?

That's right. Companies like the long established Certified Field Associates will pay you to go to a cinema and watch the films that you want to watch. They collect data on screening times, popularity, and previews on behalf of major studios, but they need civilians to do their dirty work for them. A couple more assignments, agent, and you'll be ready to retire.

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3. Get Paid For Hanging Out At The Bar

More proof that being a mystery shopper is almost exactly the same as being James Bond. If free movie tickets and spy photography isn't enough, you can also earn money from hanging out at your local bar. Just a regular person, ordering a regular shaken-not-stirred martini, rating their service, cleanliness, and friendliness on the sly.

If there's a better way to drink and have your opinion heard at the same time, we'd like to hear it. In the meantime, head over to Mystery Shopping Providers Association to sign up as a professional bar-hopper. There's other types of mystery shopping, too, so when you get hungry after a night at the bar you can get paid to go to a restaurant. It's the life you've always dreamed of.

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4. Earn Up to $5,000 as a Test Subject for NASA

Don't worry, you won't actually have to go into space for this one. NASA just want to test out a new alien-human hybrid DNA on a few willing subjects. All you have to do is sit back, relax, and grow a few extra limbs and maybe some gills. Easy money, right?

Okay, we're kidding about the alien stuff. But honestly, this is a way to make some seriously simple cash. The study goes for just under 90 days, and requires the subjects, basically, to lie around in bed. In doing this, they aim to study how long-term space travel will affect the brave guys and girls who jet off to the final frontiers. All you need is the ability to get to Houston and (probably) a big Netflix backlog. Because we imagine you'll have a lot of free time on your hands.

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5. Fill Out Surveys While Youre Watching TV

There's one huge problem with full-time work: it steals away valuable TV time. But what if there was some crazy way you could watch the tube and earn money at the same time? Well, the geniuses at Vip Voice and Ipsos Panel have finally made the American dream a reality. Both of them are legit survey companies who want to know what you're thinking when you're on the couch.

The survey range over a broad variety of topics, and are generally gauge your reactions as you watch your favorite TV shows. With a couple of clicks of a button, you could be commenting on the latest presidential debate or getting grumpy over reality TV. Most of the polls only take a quarter of an hour, and while they may pay you only a couple of dollars, all of that spare change will quickly add up.

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6. Get $5 From Stash to Start an Investment Account

It's an uncomfortable truth, but the reality is that the best way to make money is to save it first. Luckily, there's plenty of websites and companies out there who will not only help you save your hard-earned bucks, but make it grow into a lovely pot of profit, too. StashInvest.com is just one of those sites, but it earns points from us because it's just so easy to use.

Simply choose what kind of portfolios you would like to invest in (based on your goals, desires, morals, whatever you like) and Stash will handle the rest. The greatest thing about Stash, though, is that you can get a free $5 to play with when you start! Just look around for sites which are affiliated with Stash, put in your email address, and you're on your way to being the Wolf of Wall Street.

7. Get a Free $10 Amazon Gift Card

For many people these days, Amazon is the go-to site for all their shopping and gift needs. The mega-retailer sells everything you could need in life, from books to beer, and the super-fast shipping means that you can be enjoying your purchases within a day. So it makes sense that instead of just earning extra money, it's a good idea to earn Amazon bucks too. You were going to spend it there anyway, weren't you?

MyPoints is an incredible website that lets you do just that. When you print out coupons or shop online through them, you get instant rewards and tangible benefits from thousands of retailers. Signing up with them is a breeze (and totally free), and here's the best part: they'll give you a $10 Amazon gift card after your first purchase. What are you waiting for?

8. Drive for Uber

Ever since its launch, Uber has been making waves worldwide. Cab companies and the governments that profit from them have hit back hard against the company, trying to stifle them at every turn. The reason? The fares that they offer are just too good, and everyone loves their drivers. Basically, they're finally facing some stiff competition.

You're not too late to get a slice of the action. Becoming an Uber driver is far simpler than becoming a cabbie, and can also be a lot of fun. All you need is a four door car, insurance, and a driver's license, and you're ready to make some quick money whenever you feel like it. So if you're a Zen master on the road and love chatting to new people every day (and who doesn't?), hop aboard.

9. Help Doctors Find a Cure

Medical problems are usually a sure-fire way to drain money, not make it. But if you do have a niggling condition that's hanging around, don't lose heart: there's a good chance you could actually earn a quite a few dollars from it. You see, there's plenty of doctors and pharmaceutical companies out there who need people to test their breakthroughs on - and you could be one of their subjects.

It might sound scary, but it isn't. You're not going to get locked up in a cage and experimented on! Most of the time it's just a simple task of turning up for a clinical trial and taking certain medication, and often it's as easy as completing a survey or a personal journal in the comfort of your own home. And the benefits can be huge - thousands of dollars for a couple of days or weeks of your time. That next itch you scratch could well be into a lottery ticket.

10. Earn Money for Healthy Activities

Do you want to get fit and healthy but can't stomach the idea of a personal trainer yelling at you? Well, maybe you need a little bonus motivation to get out there and work those muscles. We're talking the greatest motivator of them all: cold, hard cash. See, you're already running to switch the computer on.

The site is called Achievemint, and the concept is laughably simple. All you need to do is hook your Achievemint profile up to one of the many fitness apps out there and let the data you create be shared with the site. In return for each fitness activity you complete, they'll give you cash and Amazon gift cards. Sign up now and they'll give you a bonus!

11. Sell Your Extra CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, Video Games and Electronics

The world is going more and more digital, and so are collections of movies, TV shows, and video games. As we shift to services like Netflix and Steam, there's simply no need to take up entire walls with Star Trek box sets. But before you start throwing old discs away, check out Decluttr first. It turns out that you can actually earn money for what you thought was just junk.

They don't just buy media - you can sell old electronics like consoles and cell phones to them, too. The process takes seconds to do: just download the app and use the in-built barcode reader to scan your stuff. Decluttr will give you an instant quote, and you can soon have a couple of hundred dollars lining your pockets. And a lot more space around the house.

12. Sell Your Other Stuff With These Apps

It's not just DVDs and electronics that can be converted into a quick buck. If you're the hoarding type (and let's face it, who isn't) that mountain of stuff in the attic could actually be a veritable goldmine. From dresses to books and hamster wheels to Billy carts, almost everything can be sold online. You just need to find the right marketplace.

Instead of turning straight away to eBay or Craigslist, there are a bunch of other apps you should try first. Direct Textbook is a superb way to get rid of all those unopened chemistry books you've had lying around since college - and it'll help out a poor student, too. There's also Poshmark for clothes, Etsy for crafts, and LetGo for almost everything else. You know what they say: if you love something, set it free. Also, make some sweet money from it.

13. Earn $250 By Opening a Second Bank Account

There's no "making" involved with this tip. In fact, you don't have to do anything at all. Just open a bank account, and hey presto! You've got some free money. There are plenty of banks, big and small, who offer incentives to their prospective customers just for creating an account with them. In some cases, you can get an insane $250.

Search around the web and see what you can find, then get creating. While the notion of keeping several bank accounts on the go might give you a headache, it can actually be a great saving incentive. Having stashes of money around the place that you've almost forgotten about means that you're far less likely to dip into them when you go for that impulse buy. Besides, politicians, businessmen, and other tax-dodgers do it, so why can't you?

14. Get a Free $5 From Clink to Start Saving

After you've started to generate a nice amount of pocket change on the side, it's time to start thinking about how you can make that money grow. The easy option is to chuck the cash into a savings account (or under the mattress), but the fact is that you're never going to generate much interest with that kind of strategy.

Enter Clink, the app that takes the scary teeth - but not the profits - out of the stock market. The whole trading process is streamlined and delightfully easy, and the fees are reasonable to boot. There's no need to graduate from Harvard before you can understand the market! Best of all, they'll give you a free $5 to play with when you start up (just use promo code PH2016). You're already on your way to your first yacht.

15. Download These Apps

There was a time that only celebs (and politicians) got paid for living their lives and doing absolutely nothing. Thankfully for us Joe and Jill Averages, those days are long past. Now we can turn the everyday objects we use into passive income streams. Your smart phone, for example. Did you know you could make a tasty dollar from just having one?

There's a fair few apps out there that will give you real - not Monopoly - money just for installing them. Better yet, if you keep the app installed you'll get a further monthly bonus. SavvyConnect, Mobile Expressions, and Smart Panel are just three of these companies who would love to see your usage (don't worry, it's totally private) in exchange for cash. Each one can net you around $200 a year if you play it right. And if you have a lot of them installed over several devices - well, I'll let you do the math.

16. Get Paid to Go on Top-Secret Missions

Most money-makers, let's be frank, can be a little bit of a bore. But if you're the type who loves snooping around, doing a little private investigating, and telling everyone your opinions, then here's a job that is just a blast. QuickThoughts, an app for Android, wants you to go undercover and tell people what you think.

Your missions, should you choose to accept them, involve scoping out businesses in your area and taking photos of them on the sly. Think seasonal displays, queues, public facilities, and the like. Upload the photos with your opinion, and you'll be rewarded with gift cards to spend at a load of retailers. You won't have to jet off to the Bahamas to complete your missions (sadly), but the GPS functionality does mean you can do them around your local area. Time to dig out that fake moustache.

17. Sell Board Game Pieces

We've spent many a frustrating night in front of a board game. We open the box, ready for some fun, only to find that half the cards have been thrown out, the rulebook is lining the rabbit hutch, and the four-year-old next door neighbor has eaten the dice. Board game pieces are like socks - the only time you'll see a complete set is when you first buy them.

So some smart cookie came up with the idea of selling their game pieces to other unlucky souls. And since board games are becoming bigger and more popular, the demand for replacement parts is almost endless. So if you've got some lying around, have a try at selling them online. You'd be surprised at how much people need them.

18. Write Letters to Legislators

Did you ever think that anyone except Michael Moore could turn outrage into an income stream? As it turns out, your concerns and complaints can actually make you a tasty bit of coin. Many companies and private interests will hire good writers and editors to write letters to members of Congress, petitioning for changes or supporting measures.

The letters can net you up to $15 an hour, depending on your speed and skill. As well as that, you can select the issues that you're really passionate about, so you don't have to go against your own moral compass. It's as easy as searching for a company that feels right for you, then dipping the quill into the angry ink. What's more, you might make some real changes to the world.

19. Get a $100 Bonus For Opening a Motif Account

No, it's not a misprint. You can actually get a crisp, free Benjamin Franklin once you make your first trade with Motif Investing. These online brokers are slightly different from the others - instead of choosing and trading one stock at a time, you invest in what's called a cluster of stocks representing a particular category, or "motif".

Investing in this way not only reduces the risk by spreading across multiple stocks, but also means you can aid the particular industries and types of company that you feel are worthwhile. But before your eyes turn into dollar signs, there is a small catch: you have to open up your account with $1000. Not an insignificant sum, but considering the return on investment it's the safest gamble we know.

20. Get in Shape

This might possibly be the weirdest way to make money we've found in 2016. Imagine betting on how much weight you're going to lose, and reaping big rewards when you hit your target. Bizarre, right? Yes, it does sound like an extremely good motivation tactic, but how exactly does it work?

Somehow, HealthyWage has got it all figured out. With their site, you can - no joke - wager on your monthly weight loss, and they'll offer you dividends based on how realistic (or unrealistic) the goal is. We're not exactly sure how they're making money off this. We can only assume that they're selling all that energy to our matrix overlords. But the site is real, and the rewards are real, and you can most definitely pick up a bundle from dropping a bundle.

21. Sell Your Unlimited Data Plan for Up to $2,000

These days, unlimited data plans for your cell are as rare as hen's teeth. Phone companies don't want to give them out for the basic fact that they make a heck of a lot of dough on data overuse. But if - through luck, loyalty, laziness, or longevity - you've managed to snag an unlimited plan, then you've hit the jackpot.

Unlimited plans can sell on eBay for up to $2000, depending on the carrier and location. While you might have to squeeze through a few tight loopholes, you'll be handsomely rewarded by the internet-hungry masses. If you're not using those gigabytes yourself, it's a real no brainer. And if you are using all that gigabytes, maybe it's time to go easy on YouTube and make some money instead.

22. These U-Haul Jobs Let You Work From Home

We doubt that even MacGyver could make a job out of a headset, an internet connection, and a comfy chair, but U-Haul certainly have. They're offering moonlighting positions in their company to work however many hours you want, wherever you want, and all you need is a computer and the internet.

You don't even need a degree or any previous experience. In fact, they provide four weeks of paid training to any applicant who lands one of the coveted positions. Four weeks! Paid! Check out their site, and if you don't get it this time there's sure to be many more opportunities soon. We didn't find out exactly what job it is - because who cares?

23. Tell This Company Whats in Your Fridge

Consumer statistics company Nielsen has been around for decades and is a trusted name in the industry. But in our opinion they're starting to get a bit nosy. When once they just wanted to know who you would vote for and what you watched on the TV, now they're the asking the most personal question of all: what's in your fridge?

We'd get pretty offended if they weren't so nice about it. Not only do they send you a free scanner to enter in product barcodes as you shop, but they also give you loads of goodies - like toys, gadgets, jewelry and more - just for taking up a tiny amount of your time. You could even win some amazing prizes in their participant sweepstakes. Alright, Nielsen, we'll let you poke around.

24. Earn $3/Month Sharing Your Amazon Purchases With This App

We'll be perfectly upfront about this: $3 a month is not a major money-spinner. But we've been broke plenty of times in our lives, and at those moments we'd do anything for a couple of extra bucks. Look at it this way: if you save up that money each month, every Christmas you can buy your mom a present to show her how much you love her. Aww.

Plus, it's not very hard to do at all. If you shop at Amazon regularly, you just need to share your purchases with ShopTracker. It's completely anonymous and private, and backed by The Harris Poll, a stalwart of the market research field. You can do it on your computer or any smartphone and it literally takes seconds. If you still think that's all too hard, just picture that delighted expression on your mom's face. Aww, you big softie.

25. Get Paid $5 to Rate Your Local Pizza Place

The title of this one is intentionally misleading because we didn't want to ruin the surprise for you. You don't actually get paid $5 to rate your local pizza place. You get $5 and A FREE LARGE PIZZA! For that reason alone, this cash tip has got to be the best on the list. Date nights, sports nights, time alone with Netflix, hiking in the mountains - just think about all of those places you could take that FREE LARGE PIZZA.

There are plenty of pie chains, like Dominos, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's, who always need a mystery shopper (or mystery gobbler, you choose) to rate their service and quality. You can do it a bunch of times per year and around your neighborhood. The thing to remember is that the companies don't hire the mystery shoppers directly but through a mystery shopping company. So search around for a company and start dreaming of that slice of heaven.

26. Let SlideJoy Put an Ad on Your Smartphone

Advertisements. We love to hate them - and at the Super Bowl, hate to love them - but they're one of society's necessary evils. They make the business world go 'round. The main problem with ads, though, is that while they waste your time and kill your brain, you never get paid to consume them. Now, that's all changed with SlideJoy.

The beauty of SlideJoy is not that it pays you to view ads, although that is wonderful. The beauty of SlideJoy is that it puts the ad on your smartphone's lock screen. So every time you pick up the phone to check a message or go online, you see the add. No annoying videos, or unskippable content. If you don't care about the ad, you just swipe to unlock as usual. You're getting paid to have a different lock screen wallpaper. That's it. It's beautiful.

27. Make an Extra $50/Week Working for Amazon

Amazon Mechanical Turk. Weird name, great concept, and a secret little earner that has been hiding from you for years. The idea is this: there are hundreds of thousands of repetitive, quick, simple tasks that computers are not quite yet capable of doing. Things like tallying up hand written receipts, or transcribing soundbites, or finding Waldo. But humans and their magnificent brains can certainly do them, and do them well.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is the hub for all of these kinds of tasks. You get paid a pittance per task, but there are so many, and they're so quick to plow through, that you can be earning a healthy side amount in no time at all. As your experience increases, so does your access to higher value tasks. Click, click, click, click, win.

28. Sell Your Smartphone Photos

If you're the type whose holiday photos make everyone swoon, or your Instagram account has thousands of followers, have you considered turning your magic shutter finger into a cash cow? You don't have to work as a photojournalist or stalk celebs. You just have to upload your pretty photos and make a pretty penny.

Foap (just try and pronounce that) will let you do just that. Every shot you upload is sold as a $10 license, and you scoop up half of that. Every photo can be sold an endless amount of times. Build up a killer portfolio and for $5 per sale, you've got a lovely little passive income that will keep paying dividends. You just have to keep going to amazing places and snapping amazing scenery. Sounds awful, doesn't it.

29. Get a Free $10 Gift Card from Ebates

By now you should have realized the main thing to take away from this list: that in every corner of the web, there's someone giving money away for nothing. Take Ebates, for example. It's just one of many sites that will give you a gift card just for signing up with them. No hooks, no funny business, just sweet money in your pocket.

They're a cash-back shopping portal, and they're not the only one. A couple of hours of scouring on-line and you can find plenty more that are willing to help you on your way to the good life. Most of the time you can choose which retailer you would like the gift card for. You were going to spend money at Walmart, anyway, so you might as well save it for oysters and champagne.

30. Check Your Wallet For Strange Dollars

This is a true story: we used to know a guy who made a lot of money from selling rare coins. The annoying thing about it was that he didn't go buying these coins from anyone else - he just had an encyclopedic knowledge of which ones were valuable, and every time he went to a store, he checked his change religiously.

And you can do it too. Collectors across the world are forever searching for rare coins and banknotes with strange serial numbers. Most people don't realize it, but these notes and coins are still in circulation and could well be hiding in your wallet. So any time some money strikes you as being unique in some way, head over to CoolSerialNumbers.com and check it out. That dollar bill could be worth a whole lot more than you thought!

31. Proofread Documents

Even the most talented, meticulous writer makes mistakes, and that (humbly) includes us. You might have even read articles like this and spotted error after error. If you're forever correcting others, and you've got a 20/20 vision for detail, then a career in proofreading can be insanely lucrative. What's more, you can do it at home in your underwear, with a piña colada in one hand.

Sounds like it's up your alley? ProofreadAnywhere.com can give you a free crash course proofreading as a potential career. From there you can trawl editing, blogging, and media job boards for all kinds of opportunities. Pay rates may seem low, but as you build your CV and speed, you will be looking at upwards of $15 per hour. In your underpants. With a piña colada in one hand.

32. Serve as a Mock Juror

No, no. Stop groaning. We know that jury duty is the worst thing in the world. We know that nobody wants to spend weeks locked in a room with angry people while the real world passes them by. But you see, this isn't like real jury duty. You won't get threatened by the Mob and you definitely won't have to listen to a lawyer ramble on and on about justice.

As a mock juror, what you will have to do is listen to arguments and review evidence. This could be anything from videos to documents, and it can be done online through your own computer. Lawyers use this service to prepare for a real life case, and they'll compensate you nicely (try up to $60 per hour!) for your efforts. Put on a bit of Law & Order on in the background, and who knows. It could be fun.

33. Test Websites

Usability is the big buzzword in web development circles these days. If the site don't flow, customers ain't gonna go. The problem is that developers are so involved in their websites that they can't always spot problems themselves. That's where you come in. Programs like UserTesting have been specifically created to source real people for real website testing, and you too can be a part of it.

Most of the evaluations only take up about 20 minutes of your time, and will put a cool $10 in your pocket. All you have to do is follow the instructions and use certain features of the site (or app), then complete a simple survey. The good news is that you'll not only be helping your bank balance, but help millions of frustrated web users get better-designed sites.

34. Jump on the Class-Action Bandwagon

We all know a friend who's made a ton of compensation money from a lawsuit. All they had to do was pour a boiling cup of mocha in their laps or slip in a hotel shower, and suddenly they're mildly injured and filthy rich. While you may not be (un)fortunate enough to have it happen to you, there's another way to see that payout: through a class-action lawsuit.

A class-action lawsuit is where a whole group of people are suing for damages over a single product, in a single case. There are thousands of defective, faulty, or negligently harmful products out there, and chances are that you own one of them. Have a poke around online and see if there's any lawsuits you can join for a slice of the pie, then fill out the claims form and wait. You'll be glad you kept all those receipts.

35. Find Your Missing Money

This is not some kind of Zen philosophy. We're not saying that all that money out there in the world is yours, and that you just need to enter a trance state, visualize it, and reach out. We actually mean that you probably have money that's gone missing. Changed jobs and forgotten your old retirement fund? Made a security deposit ages ago that completely slipped your mind? Well, that money's probably still there, waiting for you.

All you need to do is collect it. Unless you're desperate, though, you won't need to bother digging through shoeboxes full of old statements. Instead, have a look at the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators webpage. They have their tentacles in almost every pie and will help you start your online search. Before you know it, you and your old money will be reunited. Best friends forever.

36. Work as a Transcriptionist

Everyone thinks that they're the perfect listener, and now it's time to put that claim to the test. If you really can do it, and you're a mean typist as well, then you really should consider becoming a transcriptionist. Listen up, because we'll only say this once: it's the perfect way to make some extra cash.

Sites such as Rev and CrowdSurf offer relatively low pay rates for transcription work, but they're a great way to get a start and get some pocket money as well. From there, if you've got specialized experience in fields such as legal and medical, you can start making serious dough. We'll be the first to admit that it isn't the easiest of jobs, as it requires great focus and concentration. But you can do it at home, in your own time, and at your own pace. And that's good to hear.

37. Tutor Chess Players

The first time you tell your friends that you're a chess tutor, you're sure to cop a good ribbing. That is, until you tell them how much you earn. "How Much???" they'll screech. "Oh, only about $35 to $50 an hour," you'll say. "And I'm no Gary Kasparov."

On sites like WyzAnt, even low-rated players can make a few bucks working with beginner players, and you'll learn a lot as you go along. In fact, chess is surprisingly easy to learn. Within a few weeks, and with a bit of determination, you can go from complete newbie to teaching others how to play the game of kings. Your friends may laugh at first, but only until you take them all out for cocktails.

38. Rent Your Clothing

Do you have a wardrobe stuffed full of ritzy clothes that you only wear every now and again? Well, instead of gathering dust, they can actually be gathering you a few nifty bucks here and there. Many of us poor folks don't want to buy an outfit every time we've got something fancy to go to, which is why clothing rental sites like Style Lend or Loanables are a fashion godsend.

Sign up, put on your best frocks, and you're on your way. There's even more sites out there than the two that we've mentioned, so if you've got your outfits listed on a few of them, you could be making big profits, many times over, on the exact same item. It's good for those who just can't let go, too, since you'll get those clothes back to wear whenever you like.

39. Sell Your Clothes and Accessories

On the other hand, if you can bear to part with it, then sell, sell, sell. Clothes that you've only worn once or a couple of times will still usually net you half of their original price, giving you more cash to spend on even better gear. eBay's a great place to start, since you can communicate with keen fashionistas from across the globe.

If the process of selling an item at a time is too painful to consider, then it's time to try consignment sites like Cash In My Bag. And don't underestimate the power of Facebook, either. Yard sale groups are popping up everywhere and attract a lot of bargain hunters. Even if you just put the word out through your friends, and their friends, you're sure to quickly generate a lot of interest.

40. Sell Your Coupons

Trust us, this works. It might sound a bit counterintuitive at first, but there are genuinely a bunch of people out there who will do anything to get a discount. We're not judging them, honest. In fact, those penny-pinchers are probably the smartest of them all. Take advantage of it now and offload all those coupons you've clipped and kept.

Here's a fact that should sway you: on eBay alone, the right coupon can be sold for a couple of hundred dollars. So every time you flip through the newspaper or find some at the bottom of the junk mail, collect it all and see if you can find a buyer. Not everything will sell, of course, but that's life. But for a few minutes of your time each day, you can help out the bargain freaks and line your pockets at the same time.

41. Find Virtual Odd Jobs on TaskRabbit

Oh happy days. They've finally cottoned on to the fact that no-one really likes doing menial tasks and odd jobs. Better yet, they've found a way to let you profit from it - big time. There's a couple of apps out there, including AirTasker and TaskRabbit, that connect odd-job-haters with sweet-cash-lovers. The result is a beautiful marriage of people paying other people to do the tasks for them.

The jobs are as varied as life itself. Things like bookkeeping, picking up drive-thru, and cleaning a car can all be completed by you, and all you need is the time and the energy. Through trusted transaction systems you can be guaranteed payment, and with some of the apps imposing a minimum job fee, you can be sure that whatever you do will be worth your while. I mean, you were going to do some ironing anyway, right?

42. Open a Netspend Account For a Free $20

Getting a new debit card is always a little bit dangerous. Once it arrives, the world of internet goodies is yours for the taking. A quick Amazon shop here, a couple of t-shirts there, and all of a sudden you're broke again. That is, of course, unless you sign up with a Netspend card. It's probably the world's first debit card that will actually make you money.

Here's how to collect your free $20. When you sign up with Netspend, you'll need to enter the promo code "1180516423". Got that? From there it's simple. They'll send you your new Visa debit card in the mail, then you'll have to load it up with an initial $40. Once that's done, the $20 is yours and your balance will jump to $60. Then, run straight off to the ATM. Happy spending!

43. Make Money Test Driving Cars

Okay, we swear this is the last time we'll mention being a mystery shopper. After this, we're done. If you still don't want the best job in the world, we're not going to twist your arm. To be totally honest, it means there's more awesome work for us. But just before we shut up about it, we just want to whisper six sweet words: get paid to test drive cars.

It's great money, too - up to $60 for each visit to a dealership. Take a look at companies like BestMark for more details, and get driving. Of course, you'll have to wriggle out of the salesperson's slick shtick, but if you've got firm resolve and a spy wig, it's well worth it. Imagine screaming around the neighborhood in a Maserati, throwing fistfuls of bills at your pedestrian friends. That could be your life.

44. Sell Your Friendship

Money can't buy happiness, they say. We think that's debatable, but we have discovered one thing it can buy: friends. Yep, on RentAFriend.com, you can find people to be your pal for a fee. And even better, you can get paid to be someone else's pal. Weddings, parties, you name it. There's someone out there who needs your sparkling wit and firm hug, and will pay you top dollar to get it.

Before you start calling the whole enterprise a bit sad, just think about all the people out there who struggle to meet people in new and unfamiliar places, or struggle to find a friend who really suits their personality. And you're there, all the time in the world for laughs, movies, and burgers, reliable and caring and happy to accept up to $50 an hour to be a shoulder to cry on. It's a beautiful match. It brings a tear to our world-weary eyes.

45. Get Paid to Wear T-Shirts

More and more each day, we get to choose if and how we consume advertising. We're switching off our TV sets and streaming shows, and throwing out the magazines and newspapers. Now, the advertisers are getting desperate. They'll do anything these days to promote their businesses, and you can take big advantage of it.

You'll have to get creative, of course. Find out a way that you can advertise a business, and then approach companies to see if they'll bite. For four years, Jason Zook made big money wearing businesses' t-shirts, selling his time and torso through his IWearYourShirt website. You could rent out ad space on your car to your local sandwich shop, or get the Apple logo tattooed on your forehead. No doubt you've already had plenty of similar ideas - now's the time to turn them into cash.

46. Sell Your Junk Mail

Finally, there's a reason why you keep forgetting to put that "No Junk Mail" sticker on your letterbox. With some digging we've found the nicest company of them all, SBK Center, who will pay you superdollars just for your junk mail. And not just the piles of leaflets and brochures that are mounting up in your recycling bin. They'll buy your spam email, too.

We don't actually want to know what they do with it. Send it to the moon, shred it and use it for packing material, write postmodern poetry with it, we don't care in the slightest. All we care is that we send it off and they send us back shiny new prepaid Visa cards. No waste, no fuss. If only all companies were as helpful in removing the annoyances from our lives.

47. Sell Jellyfish

You know what you can do with that spare jellyfish you have lying around? Make a few hundred dollars off it. Just joking - no-one has a spare jellyfish. They're having too much fun with the one they've got to bear parting with it. Bizarrely, though, it's a real business idea, and it's one that has netted (hah!) one man a lot of money.

His site, JellyfishArt.com, sells jellyfish and tank combos for upwards of $300. But we think the jellyfish business needs a bit of stiff (or gelatinous, really) competition. With a few hundred of your own, you can start up something just like it and hop on board the profit train. Exotic pets will always be popular, so if you find some alluring - and legal - species and advertise around a bit, you'll find a taker in two shakes of a tentacle. Just don't try it with sharks - the shipping prices are prohibitive.

48. Flip a Freebie

As a business, finding bargains and selling them on for profit has been around since the dawn of man. The internet has made the game a whole lot easier, though. Now, using Craigslist, Facebook, eBay and more, you can pick up all kinds of goodies and pass them on for a quick buck, all without leaving the house.

Start off with the free section in Craigslist, or the classifieds for your area, and grab whatever you can. There's a market for everything if it's reasonably priced, and as long as you have a bit of space to keep it for a while, all of it'll sell eventually. If you do decide to leave the house, keep an eye out for yard sales and curbside trash pickups. You never know what gems you'll unearth.

49. Earn Up to $60/Hour as a Part-Time Bookkeeper

Handling someone else's finances can be depressing at the best of times. Either they're filthy rich and it gets rubbed in your face, or they're close to bankruptcy and you feel sorry for them. But if you get work as a stay-at-home bookkeeper, the crazy $60 an hour wage and perfect office environment might take the sting off things.

Qualifications and requirements are fairly relaxed. You don't have to be a CPA to do virtual bookkeeping, and nor do you have to have hands-on experience in the industry. It does help to have a mind for numbers, good computer skills, and an eagle eye, but those can be honed on the job. Apart from that, almost anyone can do it and make it lucrative. Pretty soon, you'll have to pay your own bookkeeper.

50. Watch More Television

Know-it-alls and current-TV-affairs trivia buffs, take note: you can finally get compensated for all that useless information you've squirrelled away. Instead of annoying your friends, you should get in with RewardTV, a firm that gives you money for answering questions about the latest TV shows.

If you spend most nights on the couch, yelling answers at quiz shows, then signing up with RewardTV could be, well, rewarding. If you don't, then just Google the answers and you can profit anyway. With a few minutes a week you'll be looking at an extra $20 per month in pocket money. It's not a massive amount, but when it comes to cash there's one motto: every bit helps.